What does the overhead triceps extension work?

The triceps does the work, straightening the elbow. Your shoulders and trunk hold the arm overhead without lifting anything. All three heads of the triceps extend the elbow; only the long head crosses the shoulder, and that is the one raising your arm puts on stretch.

Is the overhead triceps extension better than a pushdown?

For growth, the evidence says yes. When one arm trained overhead and the other trained with the elbow at the side for 12 weeks, the overhead arm grew about 20% against about 13.5%. Both got stronger at the same rate, so the difference is in size rather than strength, and it was measured in untrained people.

How far should you lower the dumbbell behind your head?

As far as the shoulder comfortably allows, well past the point where your forearm touches your upper arm. That bottom position is the reason this version works. If your shoulder will not hold the arm back that far without pain, use the range you have rather than forcing it.

Why does my lower back arch on overhead extensions?

Because the shoulder runs out of overhead range and the spine bends backward to find the rest. It reads as extra range but it comes from the wrong joint. Set your ribs down before you start, and if that does not hold, do the movement seated against a back rest.

Can you do this seated or does it have to be standing?

Seated with a back rest is the easier version to keep honest, because the bench stops your torso from leaning back to help. Standing works if you can hold the ribs down. Neither is the correct one.

Should you use one dumbbell or one in each hand?

Either. One dumbbell held in both hands is steadier and easier to control at the bottom of the range. One in each hand lets each arm find its own path and stops your stronger side helping. Nobody has compared them for results.

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Dumbbell · beginner · upper arms

Dumbbell overhead triceps extension

Also called Overhead extension, French press, Dumbbell triceps extension, Overhead tricep extension, Seated overhead triceps extension.

The short answer

The overhead triceps extension straightens the elbow with the upper arm held beside your head, and the triceps is the muscle doing the work. Your shoulders hold the arm in place rather than lifting anything. Raising the arm overhead stretches the long head of the triceps, which is the only one of its three heads that crosses the shoulder, and that stretched position is what makes this different from extending your elbow with the arm at your side.

How to do it

Step oneStand or sit upright and hold a single dumbbell with both hands, gripping the top plate.
Step twoRaise the dumbbell overhead until your arms are fully extended.
Step threeKeeping your upper arms close to your head and elbows pointing forward, lower the dumbbell behind your head.
Step fourPause at the bottom, then extend your arms back to the starting position by contracting your triceps.

What usually goes wrong

Each starts with what you would notice.

Your elbows point out to the sides and the movement feels like it is happening at your shoulders.

WhyFlared elbows shorten the path and let the shoulder take part, so the elbow does less of the straightening.

FixBring the upper arms in beside your ears and keep them there. The only thing that should move is the forearm swinging back and up.

Your lower back is arching and your ribs push forward as the dumbbell goes back.

WhyThe shoulders have run out of range overhead, so the spine bends backward to make up the difference. It looks like more range and it is coming from the wrong place.

FixPull the ribs down toward your hips and hold that before you start. If the arch comes back anyway, do this seated against a back rest, which takes the decision away from you.

The whole arm swings back and forward and you cannot keep it still.

WhyThe upper arm is moving at the shoulder as well as the forearm moving at the elbow, so the load is being shared with a swing.

FixHold the upper arms vertical and fixed. If you cannot, the dumbbell is heavier than the position can support, which is common on this movement.

You only lower the dumbbell a short way behind your head.

WhyEither the weight is too heavy or the shoulder cannot comfortably hold the arm that far back. The bottom of the range is the part this exercise exists for, so cutting it short removes the point.

FixLighten the load and lower until the forearm is well past the point where it touches the back of your upper arm. If the shoulder itself will not let you get there comfortably, work in the range you have rather than forcing it.

Overhead or arms at your sides

This is one of the few arguments in training with a clear answer behind it, so it is worth setting out properly.

Researchers had 21 people train one arm overhead and the other arm with the elbow at their side, twice a week for 12 weeks, and then measured the muscle. The overhead arm grew about 20 percent. The at-your-side arm grew about 14 percent. Same people, same number of sessions, different arm position.

The reason usually given is the stretch. The long head of the triceps runs up past the shoulder, so raising your arm pulls it long before you have even started the rep. That mechanism only applies to one of the three heads, and yet the other two grew more overhead as well, which nobody has fully explained.

Two honest caveats. The people in the study were untrained, so nobody has shown the same gap in experienced lifters. And you will use roughly a third less weight overhead, which is not a problem: strength went up at the same rate in both positions.

One dumbbell or two

Holding one dumbbell in both hands is the version shown here. Cup the top plate with both palms and let the handle hang between your hands. It is steadier, it is easier to control at the bottom, and there is only one weight to bring down at the end of the set.

A dumbbell in each hand lets your arms find their own path, which some people find kinder on the elbow, and it stops a stronger arm carrying a weaker one.

No one has compared them for results. Pick whichever lets you hold the upper arms still, which is the thing that actually matters here.

All three heads grew, not only the long one

This gets described as the long head exercise, as though the point is to reach one particular head of the triceps. Look closer at what was actually measured and that framing is too narrow.

In the training study above, the overhead arm grew more in all three heads, not only the one that gets stretched. The other two do not cross the shoulder at all, so raising your arm cannot lengthen them, and yet they grew more too. Nobody has explained that cleanly. What you can say is that the whole muscle did better in the overhead position, which is a bigger and simpler claim than the one usually made.

The flip side is worth saying too. Pushing down with your elbow at your side is not a wasted exercise. That arm still grew, and it gained strength just as fast. This is a case of one option being better, not the other being pointless.

What it will not do is tell you anything about how your arm will look. It is one exercise for one muscle, and the shape of an arm is not something we can promise you from here.

What it is for

The overhead dumbbell triceps extension is an upper arm exercise targeting the triceps. Performed with a single dumbbell held overhead, it stretches the long head of the tricep for maximum engagement and builds arm extension strength.

Questions people ask

What does the overhead triceps extension work?: The triceps does the work, straightening the elbow. Your shoulders and trunk hold the arm overhead without lifting anything. All three heads of the triceps extend the elbow; only the long head crosses the shoulder, and that is the one raising your arm puts on stretch.
Is the overhead triceps extension better than a pushdown?: For growth, the evidence says yes. When one arm trained overhead and the other trained with the elbow at the side for 12 weeks, the overhead arm grew about 20% against about 13.5%. Both got stronger at the same rate, so the difference is in size rather than strength, and it was measured in untrained people.
How far should you lower the dumbbell behind your head?: As far as the shoulder comfortably allows, well past the point where your forearm touches your upper arm. That bottom position is the reason this version works. If your shoulder will not hold the arm back that far without pain, use the range you have rather than forcing it.
Why does my lower back arch on overhead extensions?: Because the shoulder runs out of overhead range and the spine bends backward to find the rest. It reads as extra range but it comes from the wrong joint. Set your ribs down before you start, and if that does not hold, do the movement seated against a back rest.
Can you do this seated or does it have to be standing?: Seated with a back rest is the easier version to keep honest, because the bench stops your torso from leaning back to help. Standing works if you can hold the ribs down. Neither is the correct one.
Should you use one dumbbell or one in each hand?: Either. One dumbbell held in both hands is steadier and easier to control at the bottom of the range. One in each hand lets each arm find its own path and stops your stronger side helping. Nobody has compared them for results.